


wrong turn

by bluecalicocat



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, But not until the end, Car Accidents, Fluff, Gen, Han Jisung | Han-centric, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Injury Recovery, Kidnapping, Near Death Experiences, Platonic Relationships, Sorry Not Sorry, Worry, but i wouldn't call it a successful kidnapping, but the others are there a lot too, everyone gets worried, i'm so sorry jisung, lots of comfort in the last part, whoops this focuses a lot on jisung and chan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2020-12-14 13:49:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21016793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluecalicocat/pseuds/bluecalicocat
Summary: He barely sees it when the car makes a sharp turn toward the side of the road, but he feels it in his entire body as he’s harshly thrown to the side, the seat belt cutting into his skin uncomfortably.-Jisung is only trying to get to their performance on time, but fate has other plans.





	1. Watch out

It is with dread filling his stomach that Jisung leaves the JYP building, making him the last from his group to do so.

He's not even sure why. For some odd reason though, he feels like anything that can go wrong today is going to go wrong. At the same time, he refuses to believe that their performance at Mnet is going to go badly just because of some funny feeling he's having.

The rest of Stray kids are supposedly there already, but Jisung got stuck in a meeting about the upcoming album and wasn't able to leave at the same time as the others, so now he's stuck getting to Mnet on his own.

Maybe the foreboding feeling is only because he's not used to going places alone, Jisung thinks as he walks toward the black car waiting for him outside. Maybe he's just missing the others.

Yeah, that must be it, Jisung decides as he makes eye contact with the driver who's leaning against the car, waiting. The man smiles as he recognizes Jisung as the person he's going to be driving. The young rapper returns the gesture and greets him.

“Han Jisung?” the man asks for confirmation, and Jisung nods just as the older opens the door to the backseat.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

The driver opens the car door and Jisung gets into the vehicle, letting the man close the door behind him. He lets out a small sigh before the older gets into the car as well, leaning heavily against the leather seat behind him and closing his eyes.

When the driver asks for where he’s going, Jisung replies without even opening his eyes, hoping to get some rest on the way there. He needs to gather all the energy he can to prepare for their performance, being quite tired after the long day.

The other man doesn’t speak again, but Jisung can feel the car start to move, so he relaxes once more, letting the movement lull him into sleep.

-

Chan looks at the clock in their room for the fifth time in the past three minutes, and with a sigh, he finally admits that there’s no way Jisung is gonna make it in time for their performance. A member of the staff has already told them to prepare to cover for the absent rapper in case he doesn’t make it, but the leader had just waved her off, having full faith in their missing member.

Maybe he shouldn’t have dismissed the warning so quickly.

It’s not even that he blames Jisung for being late. No, he’s more worried about what could have gone so wrong that it's been him two hours since the meeting ended, and he’s not even here yet. There’s not too much traffic, the weather is great, and there’s not anything he could have forgotten to bring since he doesn’t have to bring anything here.

Chan, Minho, Felix and Changbin have all messaged the boy, but he hasn’t responded to anyone. The messages aren’t even opened, and that’s what’s worrying Chan.

He can tell from the look Minho is sending him that his pacing is annoying the others, but he can’t help it. Something has to be wrong. They’re all well prepared for this performance, Jisung had even mentioned looking forward to it, so he has no reason not to be here.

“Ingraining your footsteps onto the floor isn’t going to bring Jisung here any quicker”, Minho comments with just enough humor in his voice to not sound rude. Despite the words, the dancer is clutching his phone tightly, telling Chan that the other boy is just as worried as himself, the only difference between them being that Minho is trying not to show it.

Chan sighs and rubs a hand over his face, stopping his pacing. His own nervousness is not doing any good for how the others are feeling.

“Okay”, he tries to focus of more practical things, ignoring how his mind is whispering that something is wrong. Hopefully, planning and talking can distract both him and the rest of the group from thinking about the worst-case scenarios. “Even if Jisung gets here now, he’s not gonna have enough time to have makeup done, get into an outfit and warm-up, so we’ll have to do this without him.”

The words leave a bad taste in his mouth, even though he knows they’re out of options by now. There’s simply no way Jisung is getting on that stage with them today. There’s not enough time.

Chan wishes he could convince himself that the reason Jisung is late is simply because he fell asleep somewhere after the meeting, and staff forgot to wake him up. The image is destroyed, however, by the knowledge that their staff here at Mnet has been in contact with those over at the JYP building, and it’s confirmed that Jisung is on his way.

With a last sigh, Chan pushes all the thoughts about Jisung to the back of his mind and steps forward to lead his team toward the stage.

-

Jisung is quite disoriented when he wakes up, and the moving car isn’t helping. He blinks for a few seconds as he adjusts to being awake, deciding to stay silent while he tries to figure out how much there’s left before they arrive.

His mind comes up blank when he looks out the windows and takes in the surroundings. Even though he definitely does not know the entire way between the JYP building and the performance place, he knows for sure that this is not a road they should be on if that’s where they were going.

Jisung shivers, and for the first time since he woke up, notices that one of the front windows is open, which also means that there’s quite a lot of noise inside the vehicle coming from the open window.

He looks around himself, trying to locate his phone, only for his eyes to land on his bag on the floor.

It’s open. It definitely wasn’t open when he put it there earlier. Worse of all, there’s no sign of his phone in the pocket he can remember putting it in before, and it doesn’t seem to be anywhere else in the backseat, either.

With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Jisung turns back toward the front of the car. He glances at the rearview mirror and startles when he locks eyes with the driver.

“Looking for your phone?”

There’s a smug tone in his voice that Jisung definitely had not been expecting, and he tries to hold in another shiver. For some unknown reason, the man grins at him, and that’s when Jisung realizes that this, whatever this is, probably isn’t a safe situation.

“What are you doing?” Jisung asks, raising his voice to make sure he’s heard over the loud wind in the car. Despite that, his voice still sounds weak.

The man grins again and Jisung wants nothing more than to wipe that grin off his face.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.” That’s definitely not an answer to what Jisung just asked, but okay. “I think I could get quite the money from you. JYP is a big company, little idol boy…”

He mumbles the last part, not really directing it at Jisung, but it does explain the situation. Jisung thinks pretty fast on a normal day, and now, with the adrenaline from being nervous, his brain makes the connection so fast that it makes him physically jump in shock.

Money. Getting money. JYP.

This man is planning to get money from JYP in exchange for giving Jisung back. In other words, it’s a kidnapping, and this man wants a ransom.

Jisung has no idea what he could possibly say next, so he remains quiet and sticks to freaking out on the inside. His knee is bouncing, even when he puts all his focus on trying to make it stay still.

There are locks on the doors in the back seat, Jisung doesn’t even have to feel the handle to figure that out. His phone is missing, so the man must have stopped at some point when Jisung was asleep and taken it from him, meaning that he has no way to get in touch with anyone and no way to get out of this car. He hadn’t even thought to message anyone when he left, and now he curses himself for not doing that. For all his members know, he’s still in the JYP building, or at the very least on his way to their performance.

The helplessness makes it feel like he shrinks. He can’t think of anything to do to get out of here except wait, wait for whatever horrible thing comes next.

Jisung loves performing, and in a way, he always misses being on stage, but never has he missed it as much as he does now. Had he just left with the others, he would probably have been up there under those spotlights with the rest of Stray kids right now. Dancing instead of trembling.

The panic is making his fingers feel cold, so Jisung tries to shift his focus to what he sees around him in an attempt to at least calm down. He won’t be able to make any sensible decisions if he’s panicking.

Blurry buildings, a relatively empty road stretching out in front of them, trees, some animal walking out from the bushes right in front of their car…

“Watch out!” Jisung shouts.

He barely sees it when the car makes a sharp turn toward the side of the road, but he feels it in his entire body as he’s harshly thrown to the side, the seat belt cutting into his skin uncomfortably.

All it takes is one wheel that goes outside of the road, and then the car is half-rolling and half-sliding down the muddy hill toward a river Jisung hadn’t known they were passing over. Though he doesn’t really register that it’s a river, only that there's a shiny and reflective surface getting closer and closer the more they move.

He feels it a second before it happens. Gravity pulls at the vehicle, and the car is already tilting due to being halfway down a hill, so there’s not really much to do as the whole thing tilts over to the side and continues tumbling down.

The sound has to be the worst part. It hits so heavy, and every vibration resonates through Jisung’s entire body. He can’t tell what position they’re in, but the ground is definitely not underneath him anymore. Something shatters, and the roof above his head buckles. With the panic that’s coursing through his body, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to feel anything for quite some time, so he can’t even tell if any of the glass from the shattered window manages to hit him.

The seat belt just gets tighter and tighter.


	2. Did you hear that?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> before things get better, they have to get worse..

Bright lights, loud sounds all around, still high on adrenaline... They all manage get off the stage as soon as their performance ends.

Chan had wanted to take off his in-ear to hear all the stays chanting, but instead he had tried to focus on giving them the best performance possible in an attempt to make up for the fact that a member was missing.

Now that their performance is finished and recorded, he finally allows himself to think about Jisung again, and even though performing has been a great distraction, the worry is now back with just a little more intensity than before.

They’re all smiling and talking excitedly, but there’s still an uncertainty behind everything. It’s obvious that something, or rather _someone_ is missing, but no one wants to be the one to bring that up.

The group files into their room backstage, still talking among themselves, though the excitement is fading more and more the further away from the stage they get.

Changbin, who's walking at the front of the group, suddenly makes all of them pause by stopping the second he's inside the room, which causes a bunch of annoyed voices to speak up.

“Why did you stop...” “Hey, what’re you doing...?” “We can’t get in.”

The members fall silent as Changbin steps aside and lets them see what made him stop so suddenly.

In the middle of the changing room stands their manager with a concerned expression on his face, but what’s more concerning are the two police officers next to him. The trio looks up as the members enter. An uneasy feeling falls over the silent room, none of the boys too keen on hearing that something has happened to their missing member.

Because something must have happened. Really, it’s the only explanation they can come up with in this current situation. From the looks of it, whatever has happened isn’t good.

“Please sit”, one of the officers say, and Chan makes sure that everyone else either fits on the room’s only couch or manages to find another seat before sitting down himself. The policemen have barely said anything, but they’re all anxious already, and their grave expressions aren’t exactly helping. Chan reaches out to put a hand on Hyunjin’s shoulder in comfort, since Hyunjin is the only one close enough for him to reach and the boy is fidgeting a bit too much for it to pass as casual.

The other officer, a woman, starts speaking once it’s quiet again. Chan notices that she has something in her hand, and once she holds it up, he recognizes it as a phone. A phone with the same phone case as Jisung’s…

No, it's Jisung’s phone. The screen is badly cracked, as if someone had dropped it on concrete, but Chan can't remember Jisung doing that recently.

“A woman handed this in at a police station nearby. Apparently, she had seen it be thrown out the window of a black car, and we’ve identified it as the phone of your missing friend.”

The silence that follows is eerie. Honestly, Chan had expected at least one member to freak out at hearing this information, ask questions or make comments, but nobody says anything.

“Missing friend?” Chan repeats when it becomes clear the others aren’t going to speak up.

The woman nods solemnly.

“Your manager has reported him as missing.” Chan casts a quick glance at the man in question. “We’ve been unable to locate the car he took to get here, but as you all know, he never arrived. The driver has disconnected his GPS from the system, so we can’t track them that way. At least we’ve managed to get the registration plate from surveillance cameras at your company building, so we know what we’re looking for.”

Chan can see his own feelings mirrored on the members’ faces.

“Jisung... Is he getting kidnapped?” Minho finally asks, disbelief coloring his voice.

The two officers exchange another look, before the man nods slowly.

“We believe so, yes. The driver has not yet made any contact, but we assume he will soon, most likely to suggest an exchange for money.”

“If the kidnapper does that”, their manager now says, “he’ll probably message either me or JYP directly, but there’s a small risk he contacts one of you, in which case you have to tell the police as soon as it happens. Do you understand?”

All they can do is nod mutely, or in the case of some members, simply keep staring forward as they process all of this information.

The police officers must see how torn they are by these news.

“We will get your friend back”, the woman says. She sounds so sure of it, and Chan wonders how she can be so sure when they have no idea where Jisung is. After all, she said so herself. The car never arrived, the driver turned off his location, Jisung’s phone has been thrown out the window…

The male cop turns away and takes something out of his pocket. Another phone.

He lifts it up to answer, and while he’s turned away, talking to someone on the other end of the line, the members glance between each other.

“Is he gonna be okay?” Jeongin asks in a small voice. Seungmin, who’s sitting right next to him on the couch, puts an arm around the youngest.

“They will do everything they can to make sure that he is”, Seungmin assures. He doesn’t want to lie or say anything he’s not sure of, but he does believe that the people handling this situation are going to do their very best to make sure Jisung is okay. It's all they can do.

Chan notices that his own hand is shaking before he notices that it’s because of Hyunjin, since he still has his hand on the dancer’s shoulder. The leader looks over to see what’s the cause of the movement.

Hyunjin is shaking. Chan can’t see the other’s face in their current position, but immediately gets up from his seat and walks in front of Hyunjin, thinking that the younger is crying. He kneels down in front of the boy and looks at his face, seeing that his eyes are dry, but he’s clearly having a bit of a freak out.

“Can I hug you?” Chan asks, not wanting to make a move in case it would freak the other out even more.

Hyunjin doesn’t reply, but he basically throws himself at the older, so Chan supposes that it’s a yes. He puts his arms around Hyunjin and gently pats the back of his head, sort of playing with his hair, trying to help the boy calm down.

Around them in the room, everyone else is just as busy trying to wrap their minds about this.

As they glance around at each other, Jisung's absence has never been more obvious.

-

Something is digging into his shoulder, and that’s the only sensation he’s really aware of.

Jisung opens his eyes groggily, as if he’s just spent way too many hours in bed, and wonders briefly why the world is tilting, before realizing that it’s not the world. It’s him.

The thing in his shoulder turns out to be a seat belt, but as soon as he notices that, there’s a burst of sensations that try to take over at the same time, resulting in a huge gasp leaving his mouth.

His head pounds, his leg hurts like hell all the way from his thigh to his toes, and neither one of his shoulders feel very good at all. Honestly, he thinks he might pass out again.

Contrary to what he’s read in a bunch of stories, Jisung actually remembers everything that happened. When he looks around himself in the car, he can clearly recall how the vehicle just tumbled down the side of the road.

Even though his memory seems intact, the rest of his brain is scattered. He lifts a hand in front of his face, looking at it as if it wasn’t his own. The motion his fingers make as he moves them is all too captivating for some reason, and he stares for quite a while before realizing that he should be doing something. But what?

Oh, right. Get help. Get out of the car or something. Probably. Is that right?

The seat belt stings his shoulder again, and another gasp leaves his mouth, but at least it helps Jisung remember that he has to get the seat belt off if he’s gonna be able to leave the car. He doesn’t dare turn his head, scared that it’s gonna trigger some injury he hasn’t discovered yet, but he manages to slowly feel his way to where the seat belt starts and pushes down, instantly relieving the pressure over his shoulder.

At least the car isn’t upside down. It’s tilting a bit, and the front seems to have landed in the water, but Jisung thinks he’ll be able to get out without too much trouble.

Then he sees the driver. His head is hanging forward, only kept upright because of the seat belt that forces his body to stay in place, but he’s definitely not conscious. Even in this hazy state of mind, Jisung can tell that.

A strong smell of seawater mixed with blood hits his face and he tries not to gag. It’s all so disgusting, and it hurts so much, everything looks a bit foggy to him.

Jisung remembers once again that he’s trying to get out, trying to get help. The man in front of him clearly isn’t okay. Despite the fact that he just tried to kidnap Jisung, the boy think he should go somewhere and find someone that can help the man.

It takes another three seconds for Jisung to realize that he himself probably needs help, too, but that feels secondary at the moment.

He fumbles to find the door handle, but the memory of seeing the door locked comes up before he even reaches the side.

“Fuck..”

Jisung breathes out heavily, clenching his teeth as he tries to move his leg, only to let out a scream of pain. That’s clearly not gonna work.

His skin feels like he’s been drenched in water despite the fact that all the water is on the outside of the car. He’s not sure if it’s swear or blood or just false sensations, but he’s not ready to find out, so Jisung doesn’t look down at the leg that feels like it’s currently trying to kill him.

He glances to the side, seeing the door bending inwards in a way that car doors definitely aren’t supposed to, before deciding to reach out for the handle again. This time his hand actually finds it, and despite expecting to find it locked, he pushes down.

To his surprise, it opens, but the happiness is short-lived as another spike of pain shoots through his body, this time originating from his left shoulder. He can’t stop the whines that leave his mouth, but it’s not like it matters much what sounds he makes right now. It’s not like anyone can hear him.

Jisung doesn’t think his leg can carry him right now, so instead of trying to stand up outside the car, he leans to the side and pretty much lets himself fall out of the car and onto the muddy ground.

“Ah, ah, ah, ouch..”

He pulls himself up, eyes watering, body halfway out the door but not sure if he’s going to get any further.

Jisung glances up toward the road. The way there is less muddy than it is down here, closer to the water, but it would still be a challenge to get all the way up there in his current state.

A gasp escapes his lips as both his shoulder and leg decide to throb at the same time. He’s barely gotten out of the car and is already prepared to give up.

With the last of his energy, Jisung screams. No words, no anything, just a scream that’s loud enough to make anyone think there’s a murder happening in the woods right now. He lets out all his pain and all his frustration with the sound, screaming until he physically can't any longer.

When he runs out of breath, he collapses against the muddy ground, barely moving, not even when his shoulder hits the ground a bit too harshly.

The last thing he hears before closing his eyes is a stranger’s voice speaking up somewhere nearby.

“Jiwoo, did you hear that? It sounded like a scream…”


	3. He falls asleep…

The policeman turns back toward them and pockets his phone, his eyes slightly widened as he glances over the group.

Chan still has Hyunjin clinging to him, and Felix and Changbin are entangled with each other in a similar fashion on the other side of the room, but the rest of the members still seem to be paralysed by the news.

At seeing the expression on the officer's face, Chan wants to curse. He definitely just got some new information to tell them, but Chan doesn’t think their group will be able to take anymore bad news regarding Jisung right now, and he can’t believe that whatever the man has to say will be anything good.

“Could I have your attention…” the man says, though it’s not really necessary since they’re all turned to him already. “I just got a call from my colleague at the station. They got a call about a car that’s been identified as the one Han Jisung was in.”

“Why? What happened?” Changbin is the one to ask.

“It crashed.” It’s as if the air leaves the room, but the man speaking doesn’t seem to notice. “The car was found by two women who were out walking. A young man that fits the description of your friend has just been brought to the hospital, along with the older male who was driving the vehicle.”

It takes less than two seconds before they’re all rising from their seats, loudly requesting to be brought to the hospital.

-

The waiting room couldn’t have been a more horrible place to be. Four blank walls, some uncomfortable chairs, a few tables, and a reception is all there is. At least they don’t have to wait in the general waiting room after a nurse took them to the floor where Jisung is supposedly at, though they don’t seem any closer to getting to see him.

They don’t even know much about his situation. The nurses are apparently not allowed to give any information about his injuries yet and haven’t said anything about if he’s going to make it.

Not that they can voice that concern out loud. All they know is that there was a pretty bad crash, the car tumbled down the side of the road, and that Jisung must have been injured rather badly, but he has to survive. They can’t let themselves think otherwise.

The seven members are spread out around the small waiting area, taking up almost one third of it, but it's not crowded. There aren't many others here.

Jeongin is sitting cross-legged on a small table between two chairs, leaning against the wall with Hyunjin and Seungmin on either side of him. Despite his relaxed pose, Jeongin’s eyes are darting around the room, and every nurse that walks past has him shifting his focus again.

Hyunjin is hugging his own legs, staring straight ahead, and Seungmin has his earplugs in as his foot taps the floor incessantly.

Minho is sitting on the floor in front of Changbin, cause apparently sitting on a chair makes him anxious, but he’s still twisting and turning the phone he has in his grasp nervously despite being on the floor. Changbin himself is sitting unmoving behind the boy, holding the hand of Felix, who’s seated next to the rapper.

If Changbin isn’t moving at all, Felix is the complete opposite. He changes position every five minutes and keeps finding different ways to move without actually moving anywhere. Fiddling with his sleeve, bouncing a leg, biting his lips...

Chan is sitting opposite the rest of the group, probably looking the most calm, but that’s far from true. None of them are. How could they be? The oldest boy is simply better at hiding just how scared and worried he's truly feeling.

It seems like they’ve been waiting for days, but it’s definitely been at least two hours since they first got here. Their manager has asked the receptionist for updates multiple times, but she never has anything new to say. The manager left a couple of minutes ago, though. Said she needed to get some air. Maybe going with her could have helped them take their minds off things, but they don't really want to focus on anything else right now.

A nurse walks in through the room and they’re all prepared to be disappointed again, but then she stops and turns her face to the group.

“Han Jisung?” she says, and some of them visibly jump at that, not having expected to hear his name be called. That doesn’t stop them all from getting up. Probably a bit too eagerly, based on how the woman stares at them with slightly raised brows. “I take it you are his friends?”

“We’re basically family, but sure”, Minho says, and everyone else agrees.

The nurse smiles.

“Well then, you may come with me.”

She turns and starts walking down a hallway, and they’re all too scared to ask any questions. They simply following where she is leading, hoping that this is good news. After all, she wouldn’t be smiling if something bad had happened, right?

“We have managed to stable him for now. He lost a lot of blood and sustained some extensive injuries, but he will be able to make a full recovery.”

They all collectively let out a sigh of relief. It sounds like Jisung is still in a lot of pain, and what happened is absolutely terrible, but it could have been worse. It could have been so much worse.

“Is he awake?” Changbin asks.

The nurse makes a facial expression close to exasperation, not as if the question is annoying to her, but rather that the answer is.

“He shouldn’t be, but he is. He woke up and said that he wouldn’t go back to sleep until he has gotten to see his family. I assume he was talking about you guys.”

Even in the current situation, that manages to warm all of their hearts.

“Are you gonna list all his injuries or is that just something they do in the movies?” Felix suddenly speaks up. Chan, Hyunjin and Changbin all have to hold back a chuckle at the way he phrases it, cause it’s so typical Felix to not saying anything for the longest time and then chime in with some ridiculous sentence. Not that the question is ridiculous, only that his way of posing it is.

The nurse smiles again, before turning up a notepad that most of them haven’t noticed that she’s holding.

“Well, since you want to know… It isn't very nice.” They're not expecting things to be nice, but that comment still stings a little. “He had a dislocated shoulder, but it has been put in place now. Then there's the moderate concussion, a fractured ankle, bruised ribs, a gash in his leg, as well as plenty of cuts and bruises. As you may guess, he's in pain, despite the painkillers we’ve given him.”

Every item on that list makes them feel a little bit worse. Not only did Jisung have to go through the whole trauma of getting kidnapped, now he also has to suffer with all these physical injuries for at least a couple of months.

While the others are contemplating this list, Minho takes a small step forward.

“Can we see him now?”

The nurse turns toward a door on the left side of the hallway, peeking her head in first to make sure they’re not interrupting anything, before opening the door.

“Jisung-ah, I’ve got your family here.”

How Jisung has managed to get to a casual level of honorifics with the nurse in such a short amount of time, his members will never know, but that’s not exactly what their attention is on at the moment.

All they want to do is rush inside and suffocate the boy in hugs, but given the situation, that’s kind of hard. Simply seeing him will have to be enough for now.

As they get a better view into the room, the things that the nurse just mentioned suddenly aren’t just words. They’re physical markings on his body. Physical proof of what happened, visible on his skin for everyone to see, though the pain remains invisible.

Jisung turns his face toward the door when he hears them. Despite the thin cut that goes across his cheek or the fact that his arm is in a sling, he smiles when he sees them, a genuine smile. He has to be in a lot of pain, but there’s no doubt that he’s happy to have them here.

“That doesn’t look good...” Chan mumbles, but his worry eases significantly upon seeing the younger, and it seems to be the same for everyone else.

The entire group enters the room, eyes on the boy in the bed. They’ve only been apart for a couple of hours, maybe four or five at most, but judging by the atmosphere in the room, it might as well have been years since they last met.

Most of the members haven’t been so talkative up until now, too caught up in their own thoughts, but that passes now that they can finally see Jisung.

“Sungie!” Felix exclaims, letting go of Changbin’s hand and rushing up to the side of the hospital bed. It’s clear just how badly he wants to hug his near twin, but with all of the injuries, he doesn’t dare get too close in case he accidentally makes it worse for Jisung.

Hyunjin and Jeongin also move forward toward Jisung, though they’re in less of a hurry to do so.

“Hey, Lix”, Jisung replies, still with a small smile on his face.

The normalness and familiarity of his voice is almost surprising. Maybe they had expected him to sound different after everything, as if the event should have turned him into a new person, but it’s still the same Jisung.

“How are you feeling?” Chan asks from his spot over by the door. Not the easiest question to answer, but he still has to ask since it’s what they all want to know.

_Does it hurt a lot? Are you in a lot of pain? Are you okay?_

Jisung doesn’t really know how to answer.

“Ouch..?” he tries.

“You’re feeling ouch?” Felix repeats, knitting his eyebrows. Jisung gives a slight nod at this, but doesn’t elaborate.

“Wow, we can tell what a great lyricist you are”, Changbin deadpans. His sarcastic tone has Jisung making a grimace. Not in a bad way, he understands that it’s not the greatest description of his feelings at the moment. “For real, Sung. Your duality is astonishing.”

The mood brightens with his casual comment, if only a little. A few chuckles can be heard around the room, and Jisung relaxes a bit more where he’s sitting on the bed.

No one wants to talk about the kidnapping or the following accident. It’s the main thing on everyone’s mind, but for now, they allow a lot of things to be left unsaid, instead focusing on the fact that they have their member here with them. Not unharmed, but at least alive. That will have to be enough for now.

-

The nurse doesn’t even have to inform them of when it’s time to get out. Chan and Minho manage that on their own, telling all the younger ones that they have to get back to the dorms to sleep and that Jisung needs rest to recover faster.

The pair has already managed to get everyone out of there by the time the nurse returns, and she seems surprised to find only the two of them still in the room. Chan opens his mouth, ready to tell her that the last of them were just leaving as well, but she beats him to it.

“I see most of you have found your way out already.” She smiles, and Chan nods. “Well, I just came to tell you that one person can stay with Jisung for the night, if he wants that.” She turns toward Jisung at the last part, but Jisung’s eyes are on Chan.

The leader knows that Jisung isn't going to say yes unless he knows that someone is willing to stay with him, cause he doesn’t want to feel like he’s forcing anyone to stay. Because of this, Chan sends Jisung a small nod, making the younger relax and smile.

“Yeah”, he finally says. “I’d like that.”

The nurse then looks back at Chan and Minho. There’s a silent question in her gaze, asking which one of them is going to stay, and probably encouraging the other one to leave.

Instead of addressing the nurse, Chan and Minho face each other. Minho has a small, knowing smile on his face, already knowing who’s going to stay without either of them having said a word about it.

“Don’t let the kids stay up too late”, Chan says, and Minho snorts.

“You say that as if I have any control over what time they go to sleep.”

Well, that’s true.

Minho turns his eyes to Jisung, eyes softening as they land on the younger.

“We’ll be back tomorrow”, he promises, and Jisung nods. “Rest well.”

Minho leaves the room with a small wave, and the nurse follows him. She only stops briefly in the doorframe on her way out to turn back and face Jisung.

“The nurses on the night shift will be back to check on you shortly, but you should try to get some sleep.”

Once again, Jisung nods, and the nurse takes that as her cue to leave them alone. The door closes softly behind her, and for the first time in a few hours, the room falls into silence. Chan is still standing by the end of the bed, looking at Jisung with hesitance. He’s not that tired yet, but gets the feeling that the younger will probably want to sleep after everything that has happened tonight.

Jisung, after rubbing at his eyes with his good hand, catches sight of the expression on Chan’s face and holds out a hand toward him, silently asking him to come closer. Chan chuckles, but obeys.

“Cuddle.”

And really, how could anyone refuse such a pure request?

Jisung has scooted slightly to the side, but the bed is big enough to fit them both comfortably, so he doesn’t actually have to worry about that. Chan gets up next to him on the mattress as carefully as he can, trying to remember where all of Jisung’s injuries are so that he doesn’t accidentally hurt the younger more.

Turns out he doesn't have to be that wary of touching Jisung, because Jisung snuggles closer to Chan the second he’s settled on the bed. A warm feeling spreads through his chest. They’d only been apart for a couple of hours, but it had felt like they were separated by hundreds of miles during that time.

“Hyung”, Jisung says, and for once, his voice seems to actually match his age. It doesn't always feel like he’s younger, but in moments like these, it’s impossible to see it any other way than how it is. “It was really scary.”

Chan is silent, stroking the other’s back in comfort as he waits to see if Jisung is going to say anything else, but it doesn’t seem like he is. The leader speaks up. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

His voice is soft. Safe.

“Not right now.” Jisung thinks for a few seconds, his eyes unfocused. “Maybe later. Maybe never. I don’t know…”

“Hey, Sungie.” Chan waits until Jisung turns his face to him before continuing, and the light in his eyes could almost have made Chan believe that Jisung is okay, that nothing has happened. That’s not true though, and they have many injuries to prove it. “It’s okay. You don’t have to talk right now. Whenever you can, though, we’ll be there to listen.”

They couldn’t save him before, couldn’t stop him from getting kidnapped or stop the car from crashing, but they will do everything they can to help Jisung recover, both physically and mentally.

It’s just like Chan said: They’ll be there.

Jisung snuggles closer to the older as well as he can with the sling around his arm, finally feeling safe in the comfort of Chan's arms.

He falls asleep like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and it's finished!  
or, well, i have ideas for chapters that focus on recovery but i don't think they fit in this story ??? i might post those chapters as a new work and make it a series or smth but idk
> 
> thanks to everyone for reading <3
> 
> EDIT: this is f a k e cause i actually added another chapter to this work and it's the recovery. soo this chapter isn't the last, that was a lie lololol


	4. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> surprise bonus chapter!
> 
> this has four different "sections": one with changbin, one with chan, one with minho, and one with everyone. they're in chronological order but there are some time skips between them, which you'll notice since jisung's in different stages of recovery.
> 
> hope you enjoy!

_changbin_

Not knowing where Jisung is makes Changbin anxious.

He hadn't known where Jisung was before their Mnet performance and then he'd suddenly been at the hospital, fearing for his brother's life, so it's only natural that he wants to make sure Jisung is okay, even though the younger would definitely call him overprotective. Maybe Changbin would even admit to it himself. Maybe…

Their front door finally comes into view and he lets out a sigh of relief. In a few seconds, he’ll walk through that door and find Jisung perfectly fine on the other side.

Despite this, his mind keeps whispering that he’s _not going to find that, things are not okay, hurry, run, run, he’s in danger, why aren’t you doing anything…_

Changbin opens the door with a bit more force than intended, flinching at the loud noise it makes but not letting himself be slowed down by it. He closes the door behind him quickly and continues into the dorms with determination (or at least that’s what he tells himself; others might call it worry).

He’s expecting Jisung to be in his room, resting, not sitting in the middle of the living room floor. The sight of Jisung clutching a hand over his chest makes Changbin’s heart rate pick up again, worry and concern flooding his mind before he can even register the situation.

Jisung is trying to get up from the floor, not noticing Changbin walking in behind him. He doesn’t seem to be doing so well.

“Hey, don't do that, you'll hurt yourself!" Changbin hurries forward and crouches next to him, barely able to think through the worry that’s clouding his head. He puts an arm around Jisung, and the younger draws a sharp breath.

"I have you, it's okay. Can you make it to the couch?"

Jisung nods shakily, and Changbin helps him to his feet. He’s confused as to where Jisung’s crutches are, considering the younger still has his left foot bandaged, but doesn’t waste any time asking about that now. His entire attention is on making sure that Jisung will be okay.

It’s only a few steps, but it might as well be an entire marathon with the way Jisung collapses on the couch as soon as they reach it. He puts his hand back over his chest and breathes heavily, bending his head forward so that Changbin can’t see his face.

His breathing is sort of like a wheeze. The older rapper is sure that it’s not supposed to sound like that, which is just another item on the list of things making him worry right now.

Jisung must sense Changbin’s eyes on him, because he looks up and sends the older a smile, but all Changbin can see is the obvious pain in his expression.

“Hyung, I’ll be fine.” He takes another breath. “I think I just moved too much.”

Well, that will certainly do it. There’s a reason he’s not supposed to move around after all, and this is that very reason.

“How much pain are you in?”

His breathing is alarming, and it’s clear that he’s in a lot of pain, but Changbin has to ask. He needs to know what’s wrong, even though he doubts Jisung will be honest about this since he rarely is. Usually he just says that he’s okay for the sake of keeping his members calm.

“A little.” That’s an understatement. “But my lungs hurt. And I think I made one of my cuts bleed again.”

Changbin sits down next to the younger on the couch, facing toward him.

“Where?”

Instead of answering, Jisung lifts his shirt and Changbin gasps before the cut even comes into view. There’s a trail of blood going down his stomach, coming from a cut that goes over the lower part of his chest. It must have reopened when he moved around.

Changbin doesn’t notice when his own breathing picks up, but Jisung does, because suddenly he’s speaking again.

"Hey, look at me. Breathe. You're okay, I'm fine..."

"You are _not_ fine." Jisung has to be delusional if this is what he thinks fine looks like. Changbin meets Jisung’s eyes and thinks about how still trying to comfort others even though he's bleeding right now. “Just stay still, I’ll be back in a second.”

They're the only ones at the dorm and Jisung is in pain, but all Changbin can think is that he was right to be anxious earlier. Jisung isn’t okay.

Changbin returns with a wet cloth to clean up the blood, neither of them talking while he does. Jisung’s breathing is slowly going back to normal, and the sound of it calms the older down quite a bit.

He leans back when all the blood is gone. The cut has already stopped bleeding, and Changbin doesn’t think they have any band-aids that will cover the whole cut since it’s pretty long, so they leave it be.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Changbin asks quietly.

“Talk about what?”

“I feel like you're more than just physically hurt right now.”

Jisung is silent, and Changbin doesn’t pressure him. He lets the younger think it over, decide what he’s going to say, and when Jisung speaks up, he listens.

“I’m sick of being useless”, he whispers. Jisung clears his throat, glancing briefly at Changbin before continuing. “And I know you’re gonna disagree and say that I’m not useless, that I need to take it easy right now after what happened and that it doesn’t make me less valuable to the group, but I feel like I’m not doing enough. Like I’m not enough.”

Changbin isn’t sure how to convince the younger that he’s wrong, but he has to say something, even if he’s not good at coming up with words on the spot. He needs to try.

“Sungie, look. I understand you feel that way, but I don’t think you understand that you’re valuable in more than one way. You’re more than the work you do with music.” Jisung is looking at him with big eyes, and for some reasons, that makes the words come easier. “You’re funny, you make us laugh. Whenever one of us struggles, even with small things, you’re there to help. Sometimes you’re dumb, but you’re also a genius, which is contradictory but also true. Even now when you can’t practice, you’re still writing amazing lyrics. You’re valuable to us even when you feel like you’re not bringing anything to the team.”

He’s barely finished the last sentence when he’s suddenly attacked with a hug, and it takes his brain a few moments to process before he can lift his arms and return it.

Hearing it once won’t be enough to make all of Jisung’s issues go away, but Changbin (and the rest of stray kids) will always be there to reassure him whenever he feels like this.

Hopefully, next time will be without any injuries first, though. Hopefully.

-

_chan_

As the oldest stray kid, Chan has quite a few people to take care of, and way too many of them are way too bad at remembering to look after themselves. Lucky for them, Chan is a good leader and a good hyung, so he makes sure that they don't let too much time pass between meals and that they go to bed at a reasonable time. With everything that’s happened, this applies to Jisung especially.

Chan glances over at Jisung for probably the fifth time in the last ten minutes and sees that his eyes are practically closed. A small laugh leaves him as he sees this, turning around on his chair toward the couch where Jisung is seated with a notebook open over his folded legs. He’d been writing lyrics, but his pen hasn’t moved in a while now. Chan has been seeing the signs of tiredness for the past half hour, but hasn’t wanted to say anything, believing that Jisung would say something sooner or later.

Maybe not, Chan thinks with a small hum.

“Jisungie”, Chan calls out softly, not wanting to disturb the boy. However, he still has to get back to the dorms. Sleeping on the couch is never the most comfortable, especially not now, when Jisung just got to take off his sling.

At the call of his name, Jisung opens his eyes again, looking slightly disoriented as he sits up straighter and glances around. His eyes find Chan almost immediately.

“’m awake, I’m not tired.”

The way his eyelids seem to be drifting closed again betray him though, and it makes Chan frown. There’s no way he could be this tired if he got a reasonable amount of sleep yesterday. That being said, Chan isn’t so sure when Jisung actually did go to bed.

“Sung, did you even sleep last night?”

The younger makes a noise that could mean literally anything, so it’s with a sigh that Chan stands up and walks over to the couch.

“Hey, don’t fall asleep here. You’re gonna be really uncomfortable. You have to get back to the dorms first, okay?”

“M’kay.”

Jisung’s commitment is very half-hearted, but Chan doesn’t blame him. If sleepiness was infectious, the pair of them would have passed out a long time ago. Jisung is definitely tired enough for the both of them.

Chan still has some work that he wants to get done, but there’s no way Jisung will make it to the dorm on his own. And maybe Chan isn’t entirely comfortable letting him walk on his own, either. The last time he’d told Jisung that he could make it somewhere on his own…

With a shake of his head, Chan pulls himself back to the present and the situation at hand. He still has to take care of one sleep-deprived maknae (Chan will forever insist that Jisung is technically the maknae of 3racha and it’s therefore okay to call him that). So, he has two options if he wants to get Jisung home.

He could either walk with Jisung while encouraging the younger not to fall asleep on the way, or he could carry him on his back. Given the way Jisung can’t even sit upright at the moment, he’s leaning toward the latter option. Okay, maybe he’s already made up his mind, but he would like to at least pretend that his decision is not as obvious as it feels.

“Hey.” Jisung looks up when he hears Chan’s voice. “Get on my back, I’ll carry you.”

A normal Jisung would have protested and said that he’s fully capable of walking on his own, regardless of how capable he is. A sleep-deprived Jisung, however, only manages a small nod to show that he’s heard the older, before holding his arms out, waiting for Chan to get closer. Chan does so, only slightly concerned by Jisung’s lack of protests.

He lets Jisung put his arms and legs around him before lifting the boy from the couch, finding his balance pretty fast. Jisung seems content on his back, quietly putting his head down on Chan’s shoulder.

“Are you comfortable?” Chan asks, and Jisung makes another hum that he can’t really make sense of, but he feels relaxed so the leader assumes that it means yes.

The walk home is calm. It probably takes a bit longer than usual, but Chan is strong and Jisung isn’t heavy, so he’s not too bothered by the weight on his back. After a while, Chan starts thinking that maybe Jisung has fallen asleep, but then the boy starts humming and he realizes that he’s awake.

Chan doesn’t recognize the song, though it sounds nice and soft, filling the silence of the night around them. Jisung might be making it up on the spot. Chan isn’t sure, but he likes it.

Maybe way too many of his members are way too bad at remembering to look after themselves, but Chan looks after them as well as he can, and right now, that means being there for Jisung. He can’t always be there, but he will be when it matters.

The accident still hurts to think about. Feeling Jisung’s breath against his shoulder, though, that helps keep those thoughts away. Jisung's here. They’re safe. Things are better.

Chan smiles.

-

_minho_

They all know that Jisung is one of the members that's prone to overworking, especially when he feels like he's not reaching his own (often too high) standards. But, as the main dancer, Minho feels responsible for making sure that Jisung doesn't overwork himself in dance practice.

He looks over toward the other side of the dance room, where Jisung is currently going over a part of the choreography along with Felix and Seungmin. They’re having a group practice, though half of the group has left to get snacks and refill water bottles, so there’s only four of them here at the moment.

Minho knits his eyebrows as he watches the group go through the dance moves. They’ve been at it for quite some time now, and it was only two weeks ago that Jisung took off his sling, so he really shouldn’t be moving his shoulder this much, even if it’s not the most complicated choreography.

“That looked good”, Minho says when the three boys reach the end of the part they’ve been rehearsing. Felix is the only one who responds, doing so by sending a thumbs up and a smile toward the older. Seungmin is busy repeating one of the moves he struggled with.

Jisung is looking at himself through the mirror, rolling his shoulder with a small grimace on his face. Minho isn’t sure if he’s in pain or just disappointed with his own performance when they practice. It could be either one. Anyway, there’s clearly an issue, and Minho feels responsible for helping Jisung out, and not only because he’s currently the oldest in the room.

When Felix turns to Seungmin to keep practicing that one move, Minho moves closer to Jisung, who’s pressing his lips together in obvious discomfort.

“Hey, Hannie”, he calls out, and the younger looks at him through the mirror as he approaches.

“Hi”, Jisung says with a forced smile. It makes Minho want to huff, but he keeps his reactions to himself, not needing to push the other further by mentioning how fake his expression is.

“Do you wanna go sit down?”

The small smile falls from Jisung’s face, and his lips are back in a line. Minho can only imagine how frustrating it must be to be held back by your own body in the way Jisung is right now. He knows that the boy doesn’t like to be reminded of it, doesn’t want to admit that there are still things he can’t do, but Minho is still not gonna let him push himself when he’s clearly not okay.

After a few seconds, Jisung shakes his head, saying no to sitting down.

“I’m fine, hyung”, he says, as if Minho doesn’t know that he’s lying.

Minho reaches him and stops, close enough that he can touch the younger if he just holds out a hand. To be honest, he’s not really sure how to proceed in this situation, but he knows he has to get Jisung to sit down, or at least stop dancing.

He’s done for the day, the older decides.

“Come on”, Minho says, making sure to grab Jisung’s uninjured arm when he reaches out to hold the other’s hand. He gently pulls the boy along as he walks toward the couches, Jisung still protesting behind him.

“Hyung, really, it barely even hurts, I’m okay…”

Minho stops and turns back toward the younger, and the worry must be extremely obvious on his face, because Jisung quiets down immediately.

“Please Sungie.” Minho wouldn’t say he sounds desperate, but there’s an undertone of urgency in his voice that stops Jisung from trying to argue further. His eyes are wide as he looks at Minho. “Let me help before you make your shoulder even worse. Please.”

If the tone of his voice wasn’t enough to convince Jisung, then the addition of a second “Please” definitely does the trick. Suddenly, it’s Jisung that’s guiding them both toward the couch at the back of the room, not the other way around, and Minho lets himself be pulled along.

When they get to the couch, Jisung sits down without letting go of Minho’s hand. The other boy sits next to him as Jisung pulls his legs up and hugs himself with the hand not currently being held by Minho.

They watch in silence for a few moments as Seungmin and Felix start some sort of competition to over-exaggerate the dance moves as much as possible without falling over. Minho is smiling fondly at them when Jisung speaks the next time.

“I’m sorry.”

It takes some seconds for Minho’s brain to register what’s being said, but when he does, he turns his head to stare at Jisung.

“For what?”

Despite the intensity that his gaze probably holds, his voice is gentle, and he carefully strokes his thumb over Jisung’s hand. The other boy lets out a soft sigh.

“I just… It’s frustrating. I don’t want to take breaks, because we usually take breaks when we feel tired and I’m not tired, but my shoulder just keeps bothering me. I can’t even move too fast or it feels like…” he stops himself, clearly hesitating as to whether he should say it or not.

“Like what?” Minho prods.

“Like it did in the car.” Jisung’s voice is quiet, and there’s no doubt that he’s talking about the accident. “Or maybe at the hospital. I don’t know, I don’t remember exactly how I felt when it happened…”

Minho doesn’t say anything, but he keeps moving his thumb over Jisung’s hand and hums to show that he’s heard him. He tries not to make it obvious how his breath hitches at the mention of that experience, but in truth, the memory pains him quite a lot. The worry, the fear that their brother wasn’t going to make it… Despite all the time that has passed since then, the memories are still all too tangible.

He doesn’t even notice when Jisung reaches over to touch his face carefully, but he does feel the younger’s hand as he brushes it across Minho’s cheek.

“You’re crying”, Jisung comments, some surprise in his voice, but still speaking in a low enough voice so that it won’t catch the attention of the boys on the other side of the room. He knows Minho wouldn’t appreciate being called out like that in front of others.

Minho dumbly reaches to feel his own face and realizes with a startle that yeah, he actually is crying right now. There are tears leaking from his eyes. Salty water on his cheeks.

“Oh.” _What an intelligent response_, Minho thinks to himself. “Uh, sorry.”

He quickly rubs at his eyes, feeling Jisung’s eyes on him as he does.

“No, don’t apologize. I’m sorry for bringing that up.”

“Stop apologizing already”, Minho says, but there’s very little force behind it.

Jisung gives a small grin.

“I guess that applies to both of us. We should both stop apologizing.”

Minho supposes he’s right about that, even as the younger’s smile disappears, worry clouding his gaze again, and Minho wants nothing more than to say sorry for being the cause of that. He stops himself, though.

“Jisung, stop worrying already, I’m fine”, Minho says. The younger very obviously does not believe him about this. He sighs. “Sungie. I’m okay, really. It’s just, there was a lot of fear back then. For all of us. I know you went through the worst of it, but we were all just so… So scared. First, we didn’t even know where you were, and then we heard that you had been in an accident…”

He trails off, getting lost in the memory again. He doesn’t think he’ll ever fully be over what happened, and he’ll always remember how it felt as they waited for news about Jisung’s condition…

“But I’m here now”, Jisung speaks, waving the hand that’s holding Minho’s so that both of their arms move in a way that makes it look like they’re waving. He’s trying to cheer up the other. Maybe he can’t erase the memories, can’t make the fear go away, but he can stay right here beside Minho until the older understands that he’s not leaving again.

Minho chuckles.

“Yeah, you are.” He wraps his arm around Jisung, pulling him into his side as a small breath leaves his lips. “You’re right here...”

-

_everyone_

Things are getting better. Jisung never takes a break from writing lyrics or helping out at the studio, not even when he’s not supposed to be working at all, but at this point, he’s also fully back to practicing.

He feels better. Not always good, but better, a lot better. All he wants to do is pretend that what happened a few months ago didn’t happen, that it doesn’t affect him, but his members are having none of that. That’s especially true and noticeable during dance practice.

Earlier, the dancers in their group had, in all seriousness, asked Jisung to do the entire choreography on his own and then tell them if anything hurt. After that, they literally modified the choreography so that it would work even with his healing injuries, and despite it being a sweet gesture, Jisung can't help but feel like he’s slowing them down. They’re doing all this extra work, and for what? So that he can screw up an even easier version of the dance? Besides, he’ll have to sit out at least a few performances, anyway. It doesn’t actually matter what they do with the choreography.

They’re currently backstage with two hours left until they’re set to perform. Everyone’s hanging around doing different things, when Hyunjin notices the conflicted expression on Jisung’s face and takes it upon himself to find out what’s wrong. He flings himself down on the couch next to where Jisung is sitting, throwing an arm around the younger in the process.

“Hi”, Hyunjin says. “How’re you feeling?”

“Good.” Jisung doesn’t sound like he’s lying, but his body language says otherwise.

“Tell me what’s wrong.” Jisung turns his head to Hyunjin, eyebrows raised, and Hyunjin rolls his eyes. “Shut up, Han.”

“I didn’t even say anything.”

“You were thinking it, though.” Hyunjin pauses. “So, do you want me to get the others or do you not want them to know what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, it’s just…” Jisung struggles to find the right words. “All the changes you made to the choreography, and we haven’t performed in such a long time… I just feel like I’m slowing you all down.”

"And so what if you're slowing us down? Honestly, I think we need to be slowed down more often. Too many of us work too hard most of the time", Hyunjin says truthfully. He's right, they do work too hard, and maybe being slowed down could be a good thing for them.

"You would do the same for any of us", Jeongin adds. Apparently the others have been listening in on their conversation, because several of them come up to the two on the couch. Most of the members stop and stand next to the couch, while Felix and Jeongin plop down next to them.

"Yes, but..." Jisung starts before Felix interrupts him.

"Sung. You almost died, yet here you are, only six months later, singing and rapping and writing and dancing and producing and performing..."

"If anything, you're not slowing us down enough", Seungmin chimes in from where he’s standing behind the couch.

Jisung sighs, but he doesn’t look like he’s about to start a whole argument about this. He even shows a small smile. Even though he can't believe them right now and still feels like he's holding them back, he's incredibly grateful that they're all here for him.

They all know there's more to come, there always is, because life is a constant process of change and growth. At this moment, things are better.

At this moment, everything is okay.


End file.
